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Teachers and union press Hardyston board for clearer safety protocols and consistent follow-through
Summary
Union representatives and multiple staff urged the Hardyston board to adopt clearer crisis-response protocols and ensure administrative follow-through after behavioral incidents; the HTA criticized a district investigation into alleged anonymous printed notes as misapplied policy.
Representatives of the Hardyston Teachers Association and multiple staff members used the meeting's public-comment period to press the board for stronger, consistently applied safety protocols and better administrative follow-up after behavioral incidents.
An HTA representative (introduced by the board as Dr. Rosen) read a letter arguing that staff often implement crisis-prevention and de-escalation measures but that the district lacks clear next-step protocols and visible administrative support afterward. The representative said recent incidents requiring staff intervention had not been followed by consistent review and remediation and urged the board to ensure "visible and responsive administrative leadership during and after incidents."
The HTA also criticized a recent superintendent communication and resulting investigation about alleged misuse of district copier equipment to produce anonymous notes. The union representative said the policies cited in the superintendent's email govern electronic communications and networks, not printed materials, and described reliance on those policies as an "overextension" that could chill staff from raising concerns. "The focus here should not be on surveillance and enforcement, it is engagement," the speaker said.
Multiple staff speakers echoed safety concerns: Nancy Brennan and others described increased verbal harassment, threats and physical incidents, and asked the board to mandate de-escalation training for all staff, increase counseling and support staff, and ensure incident reporting triggers operational review. A speech-language clinician described caseload pressures with combined caseload figures and examples of how workloads extend beyond contract hours.
Board and administration acknowledged the concerns and said some changes have been made in recent weeks; several speakers asked the board to provide a timetable for policy review and explicit administrative follow-up.
